911 Call Aggravates Black Woman’s Woes

“My heart is racing. I’m really afraid. He’s saying I crossed over a solid line and I did not."

Earledreka White,28 , a Houston social worker charged with resisting arrest in March says she feels extremely lucky to be alive after a traffic stop surprisingly turned into a physical confrontation with a Metro police officer and a two-day stint in jail.

A newly released video disputes police claims about the Black social worker’s violent arrest earlier this year while talking to a 911 dispatcher during a traffic stop in Houston. A police officer pulled her over in March for crossing the double white line, and she called 911 to ask for police backup because she was afraid of the officer, who stopped her.

In the video that has gone viral, the officer is heard talking – and at times shouting – but his words are indistinguishable on the 4-minute video released Wednesday by White’s attorneys. The video was captured by a surveillance camera of a nearby business and combined with the audio recording of White’s 911 calls. The video again shows the officer, not White, initiated the altercation without provocation.

Earledreka White, who was violently arrested right in the course of her 911-call, was charged with resisting arrest and search, a misdemeanor that carries a potential six-month sentence, and was jailed for two days on $1,000 bond. White filed a complaint with the MTA afterward, but police said they would not provide any information about whether the officer would be disciplined.

It is reported that the officer was within his rights to ask White to get back into her car, but he said the officer escalated the situation by threatening to use his Taser to force her to comply.

“He got impatient,” said James Douglas, the NAACP president. “This is obviously a police officer who needs some training on how to de-escalate a situation, and I would think it would be especially important in today’s climate.”

White’s lawyer, who agreed to take the case pro bono after watching the video, said charges should be dropped against his client, who is worried that a conviction would wreck her professional licensing.

It is highly disturbing that being stopped by police in the light of day turns out to be a horror for any African-American. There certainly wouldn’t an easy solution to the police-Black conflict, which started with Black men and teenagers being considered a threat, now women are affected by this too. Who’s next? Black babies?

Kindly SHARE this article on any social media of your choice to fight racism and police brutalities.